So, here's part 2. We're picking up where we left off so have a good 'un.
This also means that there is far more emphasis on individual relationships because decisions concerning faith should be made on a personal and individual level. Now, while this may be fantastic on the surface it does bring about some serious problems when it comes down to living this way, simply because every person will have a different interpretation of how to live out various principles, which in turn mandates all Christians to approach each other openly and honestly with the goal of not only sharing one's perspective, but also to hear and consider another's perspective.
Having said that, Christ's belief system isn't a license to go mad and do whatever the fuck we want. On the contrary, it requires a much higher standard be upheld when it comes to studying and understanding Scripture on account of the fact that there is no set way of living.
Ok, so we've established that, in my opinion, Christianity isn't a lifestyle which can be set or dictated by anything. Rather it is the belief and acceptance that Jesus was the Christ, and that the principles that governed His life are the principles that are required to be present in our lives in order for us to be called righteous.
So how does swearing, drinking, smoking or clubbing fit in to this outlook on my faith? And if it does fit in, why are people so upset about it? Well, if I'm completely honest I don't think that most people who complain about swearing or anything else on my list actually know why they believe it's wrong. In fact, I think they just complain because it doesn't match their outlook on what Christianity should be. But these people continue to complain, and pull out scriptures such as Ephesians 4:29 or Colossians 3:8.
Then they move onto Romans 12:2 and Matthew 12:36 and conclude with something like "I'll pray that the Holy Spirit convicts you." So why are all of these things wrong? And why, if they aren't right, am I right? Well, we'll start off my addressing the issues raised by the people who do object.
We'll start off with people who object to swearing. In my experience, most people find this to be quite offensive because it is easily noticeable so it is the first thing that people complain about. In most instances the two passages of scripture which are pulled out are Ephesians 4:29 or Colossians 3:8.
Now, Ephesians 4:29 says "Do not let any unwholesome talk come out of your mouths, but only what is helpful for building others up according to their needs, that it may benefit those that listen"
And Colossians 3:8 says "But now you must rid yourselves of all such things as these: anger, rage, malice, slander and filthy language."
While at first glance these scriptures both seem to be supporting the no swearing view, we haven't set any sort of historical or theological background. So, before we interpret the above, let's find out what each book is actually about.
Ephesians was written by Paul, and was directed at pretty much all the churches on the west coast of Asia Minor. The Ephesians lived in Ephesus [big surprise] and their church was the largest in the area, hence the name. Now, the area was quite a popular spot for ships to stop off and resupply between Rome and the East, and as a result it had a fairly large variety of people. With this different variety of people came a wide variety of different religious beliefs. This naturally had a very large impact on how people who had lived in the area and had converted to Christianity applied the Bible.
Ephesians is a very general letter which is really just designed to get people to think about their newly gained faith, and how to apply it to their lives. Paul urges the reader to ensure that they have left their old lives behind and have removed all the impurities from their lives. Now I'm not sure how people draw the conclusion that the word "wholesome" means "don't swear" because it's clear that Paul is speaking about building people up, rather than breaking them down. In my mind, it makes more sense that Paul would be referring to breaking people down by calling them idiots than rather than telling people not to use potentially rude language. For me this verse really is irrelevant in the argument, but we'll use some other aspects from the book later.
The next book we encounter is Colossians. Now, the Colossians had lost the plot a bit because they had started teaching a false gospel. In this book Paul is basically trying to correct the Colossians by encouraging them to return to the simple truth of the gospel rather than complicating it.
Now, this verse seems to support the "No swearing" idea quite strongly if it weren't for the fact that this is completely out of context. In this passage Paul is speaking about how the Christians in Corinth spoke about each other. He wasn't saying that you may not have anger, he was saying that you shouldn't speak of each other with anger for one another. He wasn't saying that you may not use filthy language, he was saying that you shouldn't speak in a manner that will bring each other down. Basically he is reiterating what he had already said in Ephesians. In other translations, instead of saying filthy, you would read "offensive". In the context it makes a little more sense.
For me it is quite clear that when read with the full picture, these verses make much more sense, and are speaking of building one another up, rather than banning people from saying specific words.
Another thing that people try to throw in there is Matthew 12:36, or an equivalent, which states "But I tell you that men will have to give account on the day of judgement for every careless word they have spoken." At this stage people will try and argue that every word you speak will be brought up and used against you when we enter Heaven / eternal life and we should therefore consider our words carefully. In this case Christ is being quoted so out of context it raises the question, did this person actually read the text in its entirety? Because based on that reaction it's unlikely.
That's the end for today. Part 3 will be up tomorrow.
No comments:
Post a Comment